Saya: First Robot Teacher

March 9, 2009

Name: SayaDevelopment Time: 15 years of researchFather: Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi (University of Tokyo)Teaching Designation: Primary school in TokyoAbilities: Speak different languages, carry out roll calls, set tasks and make facial expressions – including anger – thanks to 18 motors hidden behind her latex face.Reason for development: The humanoid was originally developed to replace a variety of workers, including secretaries, in a bid to allow firms to cut costs while still retaining some kind of human interaction.Future: The Japanese government has said that by 2015 it wants arobot in every home and is pouring $35 million (£23 million) into robotic intelligence to make it happen.

6 comments

Well, I think some people are irreplaceable, but the negative possibilities are certainly there. However, this is just the very beginning – it will take some time before the robots will be widely implemented.

Sure can be creepy (I’m already imagining an ARMY OF ROBOT SECRETARIES :O) but they do amazing research too, like the robots helping disabled people walk.
And I’d like to know the answer to Philip K. Dick’s question : do androids dream of electric sheep ?
Still, they’re a bit optimistic about 2015 in my opinion.